Fabric folding device for sewing machines,particularly suitable for edged pocket

ABSTRACT

A FABRIC FOLDING DEVICE FOR A SEWING MAHCINE IS PROVIDED INCLUDING A SCROLL BODY HAVING AN INLET OPENING FOR RECEIVING A WORK EDGE TO BE FOLDED AND A DELIVERY OPENING LOCATED ADJACENT TO THE SEWING NEEDLE OF THE MACHINE, AND A PRESSER FOOT MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO THE SCROLL BODY AND HAVING A CENTRAL BODY LOCATED IN FRONT   OF AND IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE INLET OPENING OF THE SCROLL BODY. THE CENTRAL BODY COOPERATES WITH A FEEDING DEVICE OF THE MACHINE AND THE SCROLL BODY TO ADVANCE THE WORK EDGE THROUGH THE SCROLL TO FOLD THE WORK EDGE AND TO FEED THE FOLDED WORK PAST THE NEEDLE.

3,600,220 PARTICULARLY 2 Sheets-Shoat 1 FIGA A g- 1971 NERINO MARFORIO FABRIC FOLDING DEVICE FOR SEWING MACHINES,

SUITABLE FOR EDGED POCKET Filed Sept. 25, 1969 17, 1971 NERINO MARFORIO ,6 0,

FABRIC FOLDING DEVICE FOR SEWING MACHINES, PARTICULARLY SUITABLE FOR EDGED POCKET Filed Sept. 25, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 12 1 17 2o 23 2s 21. 23 11 19 F-3% 21 22 22 United States Patent 3,600,220 FABRIC FOLDING DEVICE FOR SEWING MA- CHINES, PARTICULARLY SUITABLE FOR EDGED POCKET Nerino Marforio, Milan, Italy, assignor to S.p.A. Virginie Rimoldi & (3., Milan, Italy Filed Sept. 25, 1969, Ser. No. 860,920 Claims priority, application Italy, Oct. 15, 1968, 22,498/ 68 Int. Cl. D05b 35/02 US. Cl. 112-141 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A fabric folding device for a sewing machine is provided including a scroll body having an inlet opening for receiving a work edge to be folded and a delivery opening located adjacent to the sewing needle of the machine, and a presser foot mounted for movement relative to the scroll body and having a central body located in front of and in alignment with the inlet opening of the scroll body. The central body cooperates with a feeding device of the machine and the scroll body to advance the work edge through the scroll to fold the work edge and to feed the folded work past the needle.

The present invention relates to a fabric folding device for sewing machines adapted to fold on itself one or more overlapped plies and comprising a scroll body disposed between the front part and the needle hole of the presser foot and aligned with said needle hole. Particularly, the object of the present invention is a double fabric folding device adapted to fold the fabric plies which are of curved shaped contour type.

Fabric folders of above mentioned type are already known in the art, but the structure of said known folders is such that the same fold the straight shaped contour or widely curved shaped contour plies only.

The main disadvantage of known fabric folders is derived from the impossibility to fold the edges of those plies which are of a curved closely shaped contour type, as can be the contour of the trousers pocket lining or other similar work, where the adjoining edges of the plies are closed by an edging constituted by the folding of the plies.

The edging can be carried by out by folding the edges of both the plies on themselves or by folding and overlapping the edge of lower ply on the upper ply which is smaller than said lower ply.

The latter method for edging the trousers pocket lining requires a particular expedient in the manufacturing which consists at first in the folding of the lower ply edge on itself and then in the overlapping of folded lower ply on the upper ply edge, taking care that the upper ply edge is not in its turn folded within the main folding, at least, setting the overlapped edge and the upper ply edge along the exact contour of the trousers pocket lining by one or more seams.

The aim of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantage in order to permit the easy manufacture of edged pockets or similar items according to contours desired.

Therefore, the technical problem to be solved is to provide a fabric folding device so that the edge, or the edges, to be folded, reaches to the needle of sewing machine for being seamed also in the case that said edge is outside the usual feeding path because it is contoured according to curved and non-straight shaped contours.

For solving said technical problem a device of the above mentioned type is provided wherein the delivery opening of a scroll body is placed closely adjacent to the sewing ice machine needle in order to permit the folded edge to be seamed as soon as it leaves the scroll body and the inlet opening, having a hopper-shape greater than said delivery opening, is placed according to an axis which is slanted in respect of the usual feeding path so that the left lateral part of the scroll body is shorter than the opposite one or right part, the fabric edge being fed through the inner part of the scroll body directly by the feed dog of the feeding mechanism operating along the whole length of said scroll body.

The main advantage of the present invention lies in the possibility easily executing the curved edging of the pocket linings and the possibility of regularly feeding, through the fabric folding device, that part of fabric not yet seamed by the needle, being said fabric folding device apertured in its lower part along the whole length of the scroll body.

Further, the fabric folding device is provided with a central body which is vertically movable with respect to the scroll body and which is placed in correspondence to the inlet opening, the central body being provided to facilitate the folding of the edge in correspondence to the curved contour to be folded and its mobility being provided to cooperate with the feed dog for feeding said fabric edge.

The advantage of this further embodiment of the feeding device is noticed particularly in the manufacture of those slippery fabrics, i.e. the warp-knit fabrics which tend to pucker instead of folding according to the exact contour.

Further, the front part of the central body offers the advantage of facilitating the folding of the curved shaped edges before they enter in the scroll body, the center body exercising a guiding action on the fold which is produced by the front part of the fabric folding device.

The aim and advantages of the present invention are those which are inherent and which will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment which description is referred to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the fabric folding device.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the fabric folding device.

FIG. 3 is a sketch of seam according to this invention.

FIG. 4 shows a work sample executed by the fabric folding device.

FIG. 5 shows diagrammatically a top plan view of the fabric folding device.

FIG. 6 as a perspective view of the fabric folding device with the work.

The fabric folding device relates to this invention comprising a scroll body 1 (FIG. 1) provided with a wide inlet opening 2 which is hopper-shaped and which is slanting in respect of the usual work feeding path. On the opposite part the fold forming body 1 is provided with a delivery opening 3 having a smaller section for forming the exact width of the fold made on the work edge.

A tongue 4 is formed inside on the extension of the scroll body 1 and is provided for giving a scroll shape to this body which is suitable for making the fold inwards of the edge to be folded.

As the scroll body has a substantially conical shape, the edge, which is fed in the inner part of the body 1 is compelled to adhere against the inner part and therefore the edge must fold on itself.

According to a preferred embodiment, the scroll body 1 is soldered directly on the needle plate 5 rather than fixed in the usual manner by screws. Being soldered, the top surface of the needle plate is joined together with the scroll body and said top surface is the extension of said scroll body.

The throat plate 5, of known shape, is provided with the usual openings 6 7 and 8 through which are projected the serrated ribs of the known feed dognot shown in the accompanying drawings of the fabric feeding mechanism -also not shownwhich is provided to feed the work while the sewing machine is running.

The needle plate is also provided with needle holes 9 and the first of which is exactly aligned with the scroll body 1 in proximity of the delivery opening 3 of said body 1, the other needle hole 10 can be provided or not at the side of the first needle hole or placed slightly forward, or even such needle hole may not be provided, in this case the sewing machine is equipped with a single needle.

Behind said needel holes 9 and 10 there is the third opening 8 for the respective feed dog serrated rib.

The opening 6 of the throat plate is formed in correspondence to the needle hole 9 and the scroll body 1, partially beyond said body in order to assure the regular feeding action also of those particularly slippery fabrics i.e. the warpknit fabrics; the opening 7 is formed parallel to the opening 6, but slightly longer than the opening 6 and aligned with the respective needle hole 10; the opening 8 having its own width likewise the width of the other openings, as is evident in FIG. 1, is arranged behind the needle holes 9 and 10 and said opening 8 compels the back serrated rib of the feed dog to feed from the seaming zone the work already seamed. Over the openings 6, 7 and 8 in such a manner to cooperate together with the feed dog in feeding the fabric through the sewing machine, is provided a presser foot 11 which generally is formed by a bracket 12 suitable for fixing it to the usual presser barnot shown on the accompanying drawingsand by a sole 13. Said sole has two holes or openings 14, 15 through which passes the sewing machine needle during the usual stitching operations. Moreover the sole 13 is provided with relatively wide opening 16 suitable to receive the scroll body 1.

Opening 16 is provided in order to avoid any possible interference between the sole 13 and the scroll body 1 when the presser foot 11 lies on the throat plate 5, to place said scroll body between the front part 17 of the presser foot and the needle hole 14 in order to permit the seaming of the fabric folded edge as soon as said edge leaves said scroll body 1.

The sole 13 is formed with a part 18 which is located in front of the scroll body 1 and which is equipped with a central body 19 placed in correspondence to the inlet opening 2 of said scroll body.

The central body 19 is provided to cooperate with that feed dog serrated rib which projects from the throat plate opening 6 in order to feed that part of edge which will be folded.

The central body, being located on the presser foot follows upward the presser foot movements which are determined by the motion of the feed dog and by the variations of thickness of the fabric.

For this reason it is necessary to avoid any possible interference between said central body and the scroll body inlet opening with which it is aligned.

The centrol body 19 (see also FIG. 2) is formed like the inner contour of the scroll body 1 and said body 19 is centered with respect to the inlet opening 2; moreover the contour of the central body 19 is smaller than the inner contour of the scroll body 1 so that an edge 20 during the folding operation passes freely within the gap between the body 19 and the inner contour of the body 1.

In the particular case of the described embodiment the edge 20 is the marginal part of the lower ply 21 or lower wall of a pocket lining (FIGS. 3 and 4), such an edge 20 has to be folded and overlapped on the edge 22 of the upper ply 23 or upper wall of said pocket lining in order to be fixed by a seam 24.

A safety seam 25 can be provided on the two plies for giving more resistance to the said pocket.

Usually, the manufacture of the pocket linings provides 4 the folding of a single piece of fabric upon itself to form two overlapped plies 21 and 23 joined by the continuous fold 26.

After folding the piece of fabric, an edging on the two sides is necessary to close the pocket lining. The edging is provided by overlapping the edge 20 of the lower ply 21 on the edge 22 of the upper ply 23 which is smaller than the lower ply 21.

The contour of that part which has to be edged includes two straight sections 27 and 28, substantially perpendicular to one another which are joined by a curved section 29.

In particular, the folding of the edge 20 which is curved at section 29 requires that the scroll body 1 have the inlet opening 2 slanting with respect to the usual feeding path in such a way that the lateral left part 1A (FIG. 5) is shorter than the opposite one or right part 1B and that in order to receive the curved edges which because of their structure are disposed outside the axis A.

In fact, as can be seen in FIG. 5, the axis B, placed at a tangent to the inlet opening 2, is very slanting whereby all the edges 20, which are placed outside the axis A, are placed substantially perpendicular to said inlet opening 2 and therefore said edges are easily handled by scroll body 1. The central body 19, in its turn, being positioned in front of the inlet opening 2 (see also FIG. 6), cooperates with said inlet opening 2 to produce a first fold 30 on the edge 20 before the latter is entering into the scroll body 1.

Such a first fold is particularly required by those fabrics which are very slippery and flexible and this in order to eliminate any puckering and to keep these fabrics taut within the scroll body 1.

I claim:

1. A fabric folding device for use in a sewing machine having a needle and a feeding device, comprising:

a scroll body having an inlet opening for receiving a work edge to be folded and a delivery opening located adjacent to the needle; and

a presser foot mounted for movement relative to said scroll body and having a sole extending from the needle past said scroll body and including a central body located in front of said scroll body and in alignment with said inlet opening, said centrol body cooperating with the feeding device and said scroll body to advance the work edge through said scroll body to fold the work edge and to feed the folded work past the needle.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the sewing machine includes a throat plate on which said scroll body is mounted, and said sole of said presser foot includes an opening for receiving said scroll body to avoid interference between said scroll body and the sole when said presser foot is in contact with the throat plate.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein said presser foot has a toe and said central body is located on said toe of said presser foot.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein said central body has a contoured shape to provide a gap between said central body and said scroll body for receiving the work edge to be folded.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 296,626 4/1884 Rominger 112-147X 520,292 5/1894 Betz 112-147 843,347 2/ 1907 Madison 112-141 955,950 4/1910 DeVOe 1l2141 2,547,562 4/1951 Breul 112-l47 H. HAMPTON HUNTER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. l l2l47 

